Neeli Cherkovski, Author of From the Canyon Outward

Book Passage – Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

Moguls skier Alex Bilodeau won the first Gold medal for Canada at the Vancouver Olympic Games and credited his older brother who has cerebral palsy.

At the last Olympics, American skater Evan Lysacek had a disastrous short program performance that took him out of any contention for a medal. This time he won the Gold medal beating reigning Olympic Champion, Yevgeny Pleshenko.

19-year old figure skater Kim Yu-Na from South Korea carried the hopes of a nation and the heavy expectations of gold as she took the ice and turned in two of the most spectacular performances in the history of Olympic Women’s Figure Skating.

So, what does this have to do with writing? What can novelists, poets and writers of non-fiction learn from the experiences of these athletes?

While I was up into the wee hours of far too many mornings these last two weeks witnessing the “do it or die” performances of a lifetime – some lasting only fifteen seconds – I thought about the lessons they’ve learned to become Champions and how valuable those lessons can be for writers. Here are just a few:

Find Your Source of Motivation – and Use it!
A Champion’s performance is the culmination of a lifetime of daily practice – not just going through the mindless motions of a sport, but improving specific mental, physical, strategic and technical aspects of the game. They are like muscles that must be strengthened every day. So it is with writers, too. Establishing a daily practice that continually sharpens your craft trains your brain and body so the muse will speak, the words will flow and you can strengthen your writing with those necessary edits.

But what motivates an athlete to start training at 6a.m. each day, doing workouts that hurt and burn while mixing in school, homework, jobs and parenthood?

For Gold medalist, Alex Bilodeau, his inspiration was his older brother, Frederic. Throughout his life, Alex has watched Frederic wake up every morning with his huge grin, though Frederic now struggles to talk and can no longer walk without falling due to cerebral palsy. He never complains. Alex said that when his back and legs were so sore he nearly stopped a workout, he’d think of Frederic and continue training. When he thought of complaining, he’d think of Frederic. “I tell myself I should just shut up and swallow and go train,” Alex said. “I’ve got that chance to one day be an Olympic Champion.”

As a writer, what compels you to sit your butt in a chair, strap yourself in and write those words only to go through the seemingly endless revisions? What is the inspiration you can use to get out of bed early in the morning, write your novel on your ferry rides to and from work, and continue putting those words down on the page daily in spite of distractions or wanting to quit when you’re frustrated, tired or have lost your passion?

Focus On: The Present, Your Performance and On What You Can Control
Champions have learned that playing the “bad movies” of your past mistakes only dooms you to repeat them. What you see in your mind’s eye is what you will do. And focusing on the future – on winning a Gold medal, getting that book contract, or even worrying about what might happen if you don’t – only increases pressure and fear. Both kill your ability to perform well.

The key is to focus on the Present and on what we call Performance Goals – those specific things under your control that you can do right here, right now to execute well from the first moment to the last. Focusing on Performance Goals gives you the best chance to be successful and the good news is, you’ll feel less anxiety, pressure, and fear!

The importance of focus played out dramatically in this year’s Figure Skating events. Evan Lysacek could have easily scared himself by replaying that bad movie of his disastrous Olympic performance four years ago. Instead, he set a performance goal: to skate two clean performances. As he took the ice, he focused on completing each element of his program to the best of his ability and turned in two Gold medal-winning performances of a lifetime.

South Korean skater, Kim Yu-Na, carried the heavy burden of her nation’s expectations of Gold, and her fear that if she did not perform well, her country would turn its back on her. But instead of getting paralyzed by the weight of other people’s expectations, she chose to focus on what she could control: to skate two complete, clean programs. Like Lysacek, she focused on each graceful element of her two spell-binding performances and won the Olympic Gold medal.

As I’m writing this, I’m struck by the importance of having specific performance goals to focus on when we sit down to write that book of our dreams. It’s so easy to scare ourselves into inaction by focusing on the big outcome goals like writing that novel, getting an agent, or selling your book proposal to a publisher. I’m going to write a checklist of my performance goals and sharpen up my source of motivation to improve my daily writing practice. How about you?

Cheryl McLaughlin is the President of McLaughlin Human Performance Institute, a writer and speaker, and the founder of The Buzz Professor, who is going to use Performance Goals to accomplish her far-too-long, to-do list of writing tasks!

Saturday, March 13, 2010 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

As a teenager, Jacqueline enjoyed telling stories to her younger cousins. To this day, they describe her as a master storyteller. So, it wasn’t a surprise to her family when she began writing a novel. She kept diaries, wrote poetry and had stories published in a local newspaper. But Jacqueline put writing aside while attending college. After graduating from California State University, Hayward in sociology, she worked in sales for a major corporation. She married, raised a family and in 1999 took a creative writing class on a dare, from herself, and happily found her love of writing re-ignited.

By a lucky coincidence, that same year she discovered the Voices of Our Nations (VONA) writing workshops and participated over the next four years in workshops with Christina Garcia, Danzy Senna, Junot Diaz, Ruth Forman and Terry McMillan. VONA provided a safe haven for a new writer still unsure of her abilities, yet eager to learn. She attributes much of her growth as a writer to the VONA workshops.

In 2004, Jacqueline formed the Finish Party (featured in O Magazine, October 2007) along with seven other women writers-of-color. The Finish Party meets monthly to workshop their projects-in-progress. Jacqueline calls these outstanding women her mentors and advisors, her friends and the toughest (and most loving) readers around. The group provides strong support for each other’s writing, good meals, friendship and fun.

Jacqueline describes herself as an avid reader and lover of books, excellent cook, aspiring photographer (all the photos on this site were taken by Jacqueline) and world traveler. She lives in Northern California and, though she loves that city and all of the friends she has there, she takes frequent breaks to fly off to foreign destinations.

Searching for Tina Turner is her first novel and, as you can imagine, she is thrilled!

Lena Harrison Spencer is in her mid-fifties, and the time has come for her to face the hard truths of what it means to have it all and still find oneself unfulfilled. When Lena determines that what she needs is the strength to change directions, Tina Turner becomes the icon from whose story she derives strength, even as everyone else tells her she’s crazy for giving up her cashmere cocoon.

André Le Gallo

Monday, March 8, 2009 || 6pm
Book Passage || Ferry Plaza
San Francisco || www.bookpassage.com

“A tale of intrigue too frightening to believe—and too believable to ignore. But you better believe it, because Le Gallo is the real thing.” —Porter Goss, former Director of the CIA

André Le Gallo is a veteran of several coups, a war and a revolution. During a distinguished thirty-year career with the CIA, he served in the Middle East, South East Asia, North and West Africa, and Eastern and Western Europe. He was Chief of Station in four countries, managing counterintelligence, covert action and special operations. He was also the National Intelligence Officer for Counterterrorism.

Le Gallo immigrated from France, graduated from Lehigh University, obtained a commission in the Army (Fort Benning/Infantry) and served as an operations officer in the CIA on several continents. He studied Arabic and Islam at John Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Study, attended the National War College, and has years of on-the-ground experience on both sides of the Arab Israeli issue. He has spoken at Harvard, Rice, Berkeley, Stanford, the National Labs, testified to Congress, and was a Visiting Scholar at the Hoover Institution. Two of his articles, on Covert Action and Somalia, have been published. A third, “Islam and the West”, will be published later this year. The Caliphate is his first novel.  Satan’s Spy, a sequel, will follow soon.  He lives in California with his wife Cathy.

Ying Chang Compestine, Author of A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts

Book Passage – Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

Ying Chang Compestine

According to Chinese tradition, those who die hungry or unjustly come back to haunt the living. Some are appeased with food. But not all ghosts are successfully mollified. In this chilling collection of stories, Ying takes readers on a journey through time and across different parts of China. From the building of the Great Wall in 200 BCE to the modern day of iPods, hungry ghosts continue to torment those who wronged them.

At once a window into the history and culture of China and an ode to Chinese cuisine, this assortment of frightening tales — complete with historical notes and delectable recipes — will both scare and satiate!

Award winning author and dynamic public speaker Ying Chang Compestine is the author of many children’s books, cookbooks and novels. Ying has been featured on many national television programs and she has been profiled in national magazines and newspapers. Ying has visited schools throughout the US and abroad, sharing with students her journey as a writer, how her life in China inspired her writing, and the challenges of writing in her second language.
Ying is the spokesperson for Nestle Maggi Foods and Celestial Seasonings and a regular contributor to the national magazines Cooking Light, Ski, EatingWell, Self, Men’s Health, Delicious Living and Diablo. She was the food editor for Body & Soul, a Martha Stewart magazine that focuses on healthy living.

Ying has lectured on a variety of subjects at writer’s conferences and universities, aboard cruise ships, on television and radio programs, and for numerous other organizations. She is the author of many books including her much praised debut novel,  A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts (Henry Holt, 2009).

Nancy Bruning of Nancercize

Join the conversation on blogtalk radio Thursday, January 28th at 9a.m. PST with Nancy Bruning, creator of Nancercize, and author and LCW founder, Linda Watanabe McFerrin. They’ll be talking about Great Getaways.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day: The discussion is on some of the best getaways going. Here or there, long or short—studies show that the getaway break is good for your health. Why and where are the questions Nancy and Linda will be chatting about. If you have want to recommend a lovely getaway or share your thoughts on the matter, just call.

Nancercize is hosted by Nancy Bruning, best-selling author of 25 books and renowned wellness coach and expert. Nancy and her guests reveal how you can quickly and easily take control of your health and body and re-capture your self-confidence through fun and simple lifestyle changes. Her unique approach to fitness helps excess weight melt away and your spirits soar.

Left Coast Writers at the Ferry Plaza

Book Passage – Ferry Plaza, San Francisco

Colette Obrien hosts: Sexy Stories & Poems

Editors Linda Watanabe McFerrin and Laurie McAndish King introduce the Hot Flashes Sexy Little Stories & Poems writers in this literary love fest in honor of Valentine’s Day and Amour!

Saturday, February 13, 2009 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

It’s a party!! Join us for major festivities as veteran journalist Paul McHugh celebrates the publication of his new novel, DEADLINES (Lost Coast Press), a tale of murder, conspiracy, and the media. McHugh, a Northern California writer, has worked in journalism for 30 years, eight as a freelancer and 22 at the San Francisco Chronicle where he was an outdoor features writer and editor, focused on sport, environment and state resource issues. Over his career, he wrote for all sections of the paper, including Metro, where he conducted several major investigative series. Adventure has been a way of life for McHugh. He ran his first marathon in 2003, at the age of 53; he celebrated his 50^th birthday by kayaking down 270 miles of the Grand Canyon; he was on the first U.S. Kayak Surfing Team when it won a world championship in Ireland in 1988; he arrived in California after wandering across the U.S. on a motorcycle in the summer of 1973. McHugh undertook many outdoor adventures for the Chronicle. The most striking was a 40-day, 400-mile sea kayak voyage from the Oregon Border to San Francisco Bay, resulting in the popular North Coast Series. Over the course of that  voyage, McHugh filed 36 print and online stories, four podcasts and five videos. This epic series can be found posted at: www.sfgate.com/northcoast/

DEADLINES begins when a land-use activist is slain on a stretch of California shore. The killers work for Cornu Point, an equestrian resort seeking to boost profit from public land along the coast. A young reporter, Sebastian Palmer, pegs the death as a clever murder. When Palmer is killed a friend with a hankering for police work and a veteran columnist team up to solve the murders. Not just lives, but the California coast are at stake when they face the determined killer.

Praise for DEADLINES:

“Every reporter worth his or her notepad is a sleuth at heart. McHugh brings this truth to life…

—Dan Rather, TV anchor

“Rock-solid and soul-satisfying mystery… A superior story.”

—John Lescroart, NY Times best-selling author

Alan Rinzler, Consulting Editor

Book Passage – Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

Alan Rinzler

Alan Rinzler began as a book editor in 1962 at Simon and Schuster and has since worked as Senior Editor at the Macmillan Company, Senior Editor at Holt, Director of Trade Book Publishing at Bantam Books, Associate Publisher and Vice President of Rolling Stone Magazine, and President of the Rolling Stone Book Division Straight Arrow Books. He was also West Coast Editor for the Grove Press, Editor of the Berkeley Monthly, and for the past 17 years has been Senior Editor and then Executive Editor of Jossey-Bass, an imprint of John Wiley & Sons.

Alan has edited and published such authors as Toni Morrison, Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Robbins, Claude Brown, Oscar Acosta, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Ludlum, Irv Yalom, Jerzy Kosinski, Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, Clive Cussler, and others.

Rinzler is Academic Director of Trade Book Publishing for the Stanford University Professional Publishing Courses at Stanford University, and lives in Berkeley, where he worked for many years on the Berkeley Police Department Mobile Crisis Mental Health Team doing street crisis intervention, which he says was excellent graduate training for his ongoing work with authors.

Whitefish Review

Left Coast Writer® Ethel Mays has a poem in Whitefish Review, the twice yearly non-profit literary journal “created to publish the distinctive literature, art, and photography of mountain culture.” 2009 has been a good and busy year for Ethel, witnessing the publication of a short story and several poems in ten journals, reviews, and anthologies, and over 40 featured and open readings in fourteen cities in seven California counties.

If you’d like to read an online version of the poem, you can do so on the Whitefish Review site.